Nintendo Wii U eShop only sells adult games at night

If you want to buy an 18+ rated game for your Wii U digitally through Nintendo's online eShop, you have to do so between 11pm and 3am if you're in Europe, Engadget reports. You can't even watch trailers for the more mature games outside of these hours.

Assassin's Creed 3 and ZombiU are two of the most popular titles affected. Nintendo isn't known for its adult-oriented games, so this is going to hurt its third-party partners. What's more strange is that there are already measures in place to keep the kiddywinks on the straight and narrow. The Wii U has parental controls, along with user accounts, and you can restrict who can use the eShop if you like.

I think it's a case of Nintendo being overly cautious. It knows it can't avoid hooking up with the Internet, but making games available online means anyone can play them, regardless of age. It doesn't want to be responsible for anyone seeing anything they shouldn't, as that would harm its family-friendly image, so it appears to have locked down access wherever it can.

It is annoying for gamers though -- I don't want to have to stay up until 11pm to download a zombie shooter.

But there's some good news for Wii U fans. The Nintendo Network Premium has launched (known as the Digital Deluxe Promotion in the US) which offers 10 per cent discounts off digital purchases over the next two years if you own the Premium Wii U. You'll have to register to qualify for the discounts, which come in the form of Nintendo Points to be redeemed at the eShop.

What do you think of Nintendo restricting the buying hours for adult titles? Is it just being careful, or is it unnecessary? And why is it only in Europe? Let me know in the comments below, or on Facebook.